Author Notes
Think of this trilogy as “The Wet, the Dry and the Ugly”. I think we have the Ugly out of the way so please cue the Ennio Morricone soundtrack. I’m calling this one “The Changacabra” in tribute to David Chang who tried to do something daring with the burrito but it kind of flopped. He did not become the Chipotle of NYC but rather something far better. This is my attempt to pick up the torch and keep the flame going. What Chang tried to do was make a Bo Ssam burrito with rice, pork shoulder, edamame and kimchi.
Okay, I know my burritos so I’m going with a Bo Ssam pork belly that is first braised and then finished on a wood grill. I’m substituting rice noodles, and peanuts, and of course keeping the kimchi. When you bite into it you can expect it to be both sweet and hot. Allow two days for this so that you don’t have a heart attack.
—pierino
Ingredients
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1/2 pound
pork belly (or if you must, substitute pork shoulder or country style ribs)
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4
10” wide soft flour tortillas
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6 ounces
rice noodles
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1 tablespoon
gochugaru (Korean pepper flakes)
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1 tablespoon
gochujang (Korean red pepper paste)*
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1 ounce
ginger, sliced into sticks
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1
sweet onion, roughly chopped
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5-7
whole cloves of garlic, peeled
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2 cups
(approximate) pork or chicken stock
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1
bunch cilantro (optional)
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8 ounces
your very favorite, best kimchi
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Korean hot sauce (I like KIM) or substitute your own favorite, maybe “Rooster sauce”
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Crumbled cotija cheese or be bold with a Spanish valdeon (cheese here, VERY optional)
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salt (if needed)
Directions
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Mix the gochugaru and gochujang in a bowl. This is going to be sticky. Rub this all over the pork belly.
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Braise the pork belly in either pork stock or chicken broth along with the ginger, onion and garlic for about two hours until it’s fork tender. You can hold this overnight, and probably you should. But you are not finished yet.
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Grill the pork belly and bring it back inside. This is bo ssam ma’am. Chop it into small pieces.
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Boil your rice noodles and then plunge them into very cold water. Turn them out into a colander and pat dry with paper towels. Let that rest awhile.
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The burrito station comes next. Smear some hoisen over a 10” tortilla. Sprinkle some peanuts (or sesame) over that . Follow with cheese if you are using any. Give this a squirt of hot sauce.
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Next , add a handful of noodles. Don’t overstuff because we hate burrito blowouts. Finish with the pork and kimchi and chopped cilantro if using. Follow our standard burrito roll up rules.
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Set your rolls on a sheet pan and place in a 350F oven. Bake for about 8 minutes.
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*Some of the Korean condiments can be hard to find, such as the gochujang. You can substitute a Chinese bean paste and amp it up with sambal or sriracha to taste. For gochugaru you can use another flaked red pepper.
Standup commis flâneur, and food historian. Pierino's background is in Italian and Spanish cooking but of late he's focused on frozen desserts. He is now finishing his cookbook, MALAVIDA! Can it get worse? Yes, it can. Visit the Malavida Brass Knuckle cooking page at Facebook and your posts are welcome there.
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